Bayonetta 3 Session 1: Ain't No Rest For The Witches
0She's finally back, performing for you! If you know the moves, you can join in too!
Welcome to Bayonetta 3, released in October 2022 for the Switch! First announced in December 2017, it was a long wait, and every time there was a Nintendo Direct, Bayonetta fans were asking, "Where's Bayonetta 3?"
Before kicking things off, gotta address the elephant in the room: the mess surrounding Bayonetta's change in voice actress. If somehow you're interested in the game but hadn't heard, Bayonetta's original VA, Hellena Taylor, was replaced by Jennifer Hale, who I think did a wonderful job. Shortly before the release, Hellena Taylor called for a boycott of the game, saying that PlatinumGames wouldn't pay her fairly for the role. I believe she even said that she wrote to Hideki Kamiya himself, and that he gave her an insultingly low offer.
Then it came out that PlatinumGames' initial offer was actually on the high end for voice work, Hellena Taylor wanted something a couple orders of magnitude higher than that, and the "insultingly low" offer from Kamiya was for a cameo after negotiations had followed through, and again, it was on the higher end for voice work. The boycott wasn't all that successful, I'd say.
Anyway, moving on!
In terms of gameplay, Bayonetta 3 is more of an evolution than a refinement over the first two games. You've still got your fundamentals, of course; you have your punches and kicks and shooting, and you have your dodging that puts the world in slow motion. But now there are two new signature abilities for this game: Demon Masquerade and Demon Slave.
Demon Masquerade lets Bayonetta fuse with one of her demons at will, essentially. It gives her new attacks and new movement options, and it's based on whatever weapon she has equipped. Just as an example, for the new handgun set, Colour My World, she fuses with Madama Butterfly and gains the ability to flutter through the air.
Demon Slave lets Bayonetta not only summon a demon at will, but also lets her control it directly in battle. She has to keep dancing to do it, so she herself is vulnerable to attack while her demon of choice tears up the battlefield. There's also a rage mechanic, where a demon will go berserk and attack you until you can smack some sense back into it, but I don't recall that being much of a problem.
Weapons have had a bit of an overhaul, too. There aren't distinct slots for your hands and feet anymore, so no mixing and matching. That likely ties into the whole Demon Masquerade thing. You also unlock moves and abilities for each weapon and each demon with a currency.
For that matter, there are three currencies now: halos, orbs, and seeds. Angels aren't really the main enemy this time, so halos are relatively rare, and they're mostly used for cosmetics. Demonic orbs are the currency for weapons and demons, and they're awarded through, say, executing torture attacks on enemies. Seeds are highly plentiful, and they're used for items and accessories. You can get them everywhere, including lotuses you'll see scattered throughout the levels.
Each chapter now has three Umbran Tears of Blood, each associated with a witch's familiar: a cat, a toad, and a crow. They each have a different challenge associated with them. Cats will run around an area, so you'll have to find a way to catch them; toads will croak when you're near, so you'll have to listen carefully to pinpoint their location; crows will fly around an area, so you'll have to move skillfully through the air to catch them. If you find all three, you'll unlock a bonus challenge called a Phenomenal Remnant.
If you miss one, don't worry, you can restart a chapter from a checkpoint after you beat it. While you're at it, there are also hidden objectives in each chapter. They don't unlock anything, they're there just for funsies. You can also upload your level scores and times to a leaderboard, if you feel so inclined.
One last note: if you have save data from the Switch version of Bayonetta, you unlock Scarborough Fair for purchase, and likewise, if you have a Bayonetta 2 save, you unlock Love Is Blue. There's no other way to unlock them, as far as I know, and bear in mind that you still have to buy their extra moves.
Okay, phew, I think that covers the essentials!
Don't forget, you can watch me play live at https://twitch.tv/Radical_Eddie
You can follow me on Twitter, too, if that's your thing! https://twitter.com/Eddie_Radical
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